Jesus the True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes^[a] to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed^[b] by the word that I have spoken to you.^{(A) 4} Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.^{(B) 5} I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.^(A)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.^(A)

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”^(A)

⁹ For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.^(A)

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?^[a](A)

6 As we work together with him,^[a] we entreat you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.^(A)

¹⁷ So if anyone is in Christ, there^[a] is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!^{[b](A) 18} All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;^{(B) 19} that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^[c] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.^{(C) 20} So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.^{(D) 21} For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(E)

¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter,^[a] and on this rock^[b] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.^(A)